New website boasts of progress, plans for tourism

Tourism Development Council launches new website.

By Tamas Mondovics
Editor

Since its launch earlier this year, members of the Tourism Development Council (TDC) of Johnson County, Tennessee have been busy working on accomplishing the organization’s short and long-term goals. The official launch of the new Tourism Development Council held on Thursday, April 19, 2018, in the form of two informational seminars, was well attended, demonstrating the community’s interest in the group’s goals and future plans. According to TDC president and owner of Harbin Hill Farms Richard Calkins, Tourism at its first meeting for members and prospective members, the non-profit, and newly-established group presented its accomplishments over the past six months, and plans for the next six years.Calkins was pleased with the launch of TDC’s online presence, which he said was a top priority.

“One of the Council’s first major accomplishments has been the development of a fully operational website for the organization,” Calkins said.

TDC’s online features include a listing of the members of the Council, by business category, an “about” section, an events section, a photo gallery, and information about how to become a registered member. Considered as one of the most important sections of the new website is the “events section,” that includes a calendar of all events across Johnson County and (selectively) events in surrounding counties. Those interested in knowing what dates may already have events scheduled can check the events section by date to find out. Once an event sponsor has selected a date for their event, they can list it on the TDC calendar, which can be found at www.explorejohnsoncountytn.com/events – 3/.

Going forward, the Council described its plans to develop a strategy and business plan for advertising and promotion.

“In view of current trends, much of the strategy is expected to rely on social media marketing, including through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and similar applications,” Calkins said.

Tourism development has reportedly been receiving unprecedented attention and support at the State level, sporting record-breaking year for Tennessee tourism: in 2016, tourism expenditures were up by 4.7 percent, state and local sales tax revenues by 6.7 percent, and tourism- related employment by 3.3 percent. Tennessee places within the top ten tourist destinations in the U.S. and is widely considered a top retirement destination.

In recognition of the need for many of its members – and the Johnson County business community in general, to become more familiar with what marketing through social media is all about, the Council was pleased to announce plans to organize a series of workshops on this topic to meet this need. The workshops will be open to the public, but direct support from the Council will be limited to those businesses who are registered members, and thus eligible to participate in the overall marketing efforts of the TDC.
For more information about the Tourism Development Council (TDC) of Johnson County, Tennessee area residents are urged to visit the new website, www.explorejohnsoncountytn.com as well as share the news with friends, family and out of town guests.